Silence is Golden
by UnifiedNations
Summary: Recently broken up from his girlfriend, Kiku is left depressed with his best friend Helena to try and cheer him up. But when something unexpected happens, whats to say Kiku won't stay separated from everyone forever? Rated T for future violence/language.
1. Chapter 1

"We go together like  
>rama lama lama<br>ke ding a de dinga a dong  
>remembered for ever like<br>shoo bop shoo wadda wadda yipitty boom de boom..."

A large group of students practically jumped around the dance floor, supposedly dancing, but looking like they were being thrown around by a large octopus. Several pairs and groups of students sat at tables, drinking and chatting amongst themselves. All looked like they were having the time of their lives- except one.

Kiku Honda, a small Japanese transfer student, was seated near the back of the large room, sipping from his drink and gazing around the hall. He hadn't planned to be alone; he had been looking forward to this day as much as everyone else had, up until the third day from it. Why?

Allison F. Jones, his girlfriend, had split up with him. Harshly. And, to make it worse, she had told everyone it had been his fault. So, Kiku had been left alone, three days before the end of term disco, with no date, almost no friends and money he couldn't get back from paying for the stupid day. It had been Allison who had persuaded him to come, he hated social gatherings. What a waste...

Kiku sighed and rested his forehead on the cool table, his eyes being drawn to his small sketchpad where he was sketching Haruhi Suzumiya in a gothic lolita maid dress. He was just finishing going over the pencil lines around her... uh... bust... when the current song ended and the half of the dancing students went to sit down.

"This next song is a request for a lucky person tonight! Hope you all enjoy..." The DJ spoke cheerfully into the microphone as he selected the next track.

"Azamuku ni wa Ososugite  
>Sasayaku ni wa Orokasugite<br>Sono omoi wo tsuki ni utsushi Yoru wo wataru..."

Kiku's ears perked up as the familiar notes reached his ears. Was that... Hallucination?

"Do you like it?" He heard a soft voice above him and looked up from his lap. Helena, his Greek best friend, was standing in front of him, smiling. "I... know you've been feeling sad recently... so I requested it for you."

Kiku smiled at her. "Thank-you, Helena chan. Are you enjoying yourself?" He frowned when Helena shook her head.

"Not as much as I could be... I can't bear to see you sad." She reached her hand out to him. "Will you dance with me?"

Kiku blushed slightly, staring at the outstretched hand, then at the dance floor. Pairs of dancers were now together, arms round each other, swaying lightly to the song.

He sighed. Helena was just like a kitten, he could never say no. He placed his hand in her palm and she smiled, leading him up and to the dance floor. They reached the edge and the Greek girl turned, still smiling at him.

"I... I don't know how to Dance..." Kiku mumbled, embarrassed. Helena just kept smiling at him.

"Don't worry... just put your arms around my waist..." Kiku uncomfortably did so. Helena then placed her arms around his neck.

They joined the growing crowd of students slowly dancing to the sad song. Kiku simply stared at the floor, although when he did glance up he saw Allison dancing with Arthur. He briefly made eye contact and saw an odd flash of mixed emotions pass in her eyes. Kiku looked down again.

" Furete sugu ni Hagasu kuchibiru  
>Kore wa yume Itsumo no yume<br>Nami no you ni Dakiyoserarete..."

Helena felt Kiku's arms stiffen around her waist and he began to shake slightly. Startled, she looked down to see Kiku's head tilted down. Was he... crying? She hadn't seen him cry for years, not since...

She shook herself out of her thoughts, wrapping her arms tighter around him and pulling him towards her. He resisted at first, but then gave up, leaning against her with his face against her shoulder. Several seconds passed until Helena decided this was enough, and she took Kiku's hand, half-dragging him out of the room.

She pulled him through the double doors and stood by the wall with Kiku, who was rubbing his eyes, trying to stop his crying. Again, Helena pulled her to him, not letting go when he pulled away, instead tightening her hold on him, trying to avoid shoving his face into her chest, but trying to comfort him all the same. The only way she could tell he was crying was the shaking, he never made any noise when he cried. It was the strangest thing, if you didn't know why.

Several minutes passed until Kiku gently tugged away from her hold and stepped backwards. "I... I apologise, Helena-chan..."

"Its not your fault, Kiku, never think that. Its only because you told me not to that I'm not dragging that stupid American out of there by her hair." Kiku chuckled slightly at this, wiping his eyes. "Do you want to go home?"

Kiku nodded. "But... I left my bag inside... and I don't really want to go back in..." He bit his lip.

Helena smiled. "No problem!" She stuck her head back into the hall and a few seconds later Daisy, a happy Italian girl, came out with a bag in her hands.

"Caio Kiku! I'm really sorry you have to leave..." She hitched the frown on her face into a smile and handed him the bag. "I'll see you later! Luddy's waiting and I wanna dance with him!" She vanished.

Helena took his hand again, inwardly smiling when he didn't pull away, and took him outside to her hired car. She and Kiku got in, instructed the driver where to go, then set off. The whole way, Kiku's head was dipping forward and his eyes kept almost closing until he shook himself awake.

The car pulled up outside a house and Helena got out, taking Kiku's hand YET AGAIN and taking him inside. They were instantly greeted by the mews of many cats.

"B-but this isn't my home..." Kiku stuttered, looking around at the Greek paintings and artifacts.

"Of course not. You're sad, the last thing you need is to be alone tonight." Helena blatantly ignored the baffled look on Kiku's face and dragged him upstairs to her room, throwing herself on the double bed and inviting Kiku down beside her. He hesitated, then lay down beside her on his back. He sighed quietly, staring at the ceiling. Half the students in his class now hated him, he had pretty much been humiliated at the end of year disco, and he could already tell he was in for a bad few weeks back at school ahead of him.

Could this get any worse?

"DAMMIT DAISY! BUY YOUR OWN FRIGGING LUNCH!" Ramona yelled at her twin sister as she chased her up the path to school. Ludwig and Antonio followed slowly, their satchels slung over their shoulders. Kiku and Helena followed even slower behind them, party because of Helena's constant sleepiness, partly because of Kiku's reluctance to go back. Something told him that even after two weeks of holiday, no-one would have forgotten him yet.

The six students made their way to their first class; history. In a bizarre twist of fate they were studying world war two, currently on Pearl Harbour and the atomic bombs. Kiku groaned silently as he sat down, dreading what they would have to discuss that lesson.

Around ten minutes passed until Kiku felt screwed up bits of paper being thrown at his head. He ignored them until a significantly larger piece of paper, supposedly a note, landed on his desk. Uneasily, he picked it up and unfolded it. Written inside was three words.

'Its your fault.'

Kiku felt his heart almost stop and his eyes widen as his mind was flooded with memories from years ago.

"ITS YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Its that stupid brat, never leaves us..."

"Its his fault! I'm not to blame! If he wasn't here, I could..."

The desk began to tremble under his shaking arms as his pupils contracted.

"N-no... no..." His arm jerked and hit the desk behind him, sending sparks of pain through his arm and setting his mind into a frenzy. "NO!" He screamed, standing abruptly, sending his desk to the floor before running out of the door as fast as he could go.

The rest of the class was left in silence, staring at the doorway until the teacher cleared her throat. "I need someone to go after him." Chun-Yan, Kiku's sister, immediately put her hand up.

"Yes, Chun-Yan. Go look for him and bring him back." She nodded, standing and going to the door before turning and noticing the crumpled piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and scanned the contents and her eyes narrowed hatefully.

"I'm afraid, miss, that he probably won't be coming back for a while, aru."


	2. Chapter 2

"DAMMIT DAISY! BUY YOUR OWN FRIGGING LUNCH!" Ramona yelled at her twin sister as she chased her up the path to school. Ludwig and Antonio followed slowly, their satchels slung over their shoulders. Kiku and Helena followed even slower behind them, party because of Helena's constant sleepiness, partly because of Kiku's reluctance to go back. Something told him that even after two weeks of holiday, no-one would have forgotten him yet.

The six students made their way to their first class; history. In a bizarre twist of fate they were studying world war two, currently on Pearl Harbour and the atomic bombs. Kiku groaned silently as he sat down, dreading what they would have to discuss that lesson.

Around ten minutes passed until Kiku felt screwed up bits of paper being thrown at his head. He ignored them until a significantly larger piece of paper, supposedly a note, landed on his desk. Uneasily, he picked it up and unfolded it. Written inside was three words.

'Its your fault.'

Kiku felt his heart almost stop and his eyes widen as his mind was flooded with memories from years ago.

"ITS YOUR FAULT! EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Its that stupid brat, its his fault..."

"Its his fault! I'm not to blame! If he wasn't here, I could..."

The desk began to tremble under his shaking arms as his pupils contracted.

"N-no... no..." His arm jerked and hit the desk behind him, sending sparks of pain through his arm and setting his mind into a frenzy. "NO!" He screamed, standing abruptly, sending his desk to the floor before running out of the door as fast as he could go.

The rest of the class was left in silence, staring at the doorway until the teacher cleared her throat. "I need someone to go after him." Chun-Yan, Kiku's sister, immediately put her hand up.

"Yes, Chun-Yan. Go look for him and bring him back." She nodded, standing and going to the door before turning and noticing the crumpled piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and scanned the contents and her eyes narrowed hatefully.

"I'm afraid, miss, that he probably won't be coming back for a while, aru."

As soon as Kiku reached his house he shot inside, slamming the door behind him and running to his room. He hurriedly shut his bedroom door and burrowed himself under the covers on his futon, shaking and biting back sobs.

"N-no, its not m-my fault, its... not.." He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his pillow, his fingers clawing at the bed covers as if he was afraid to let go and fall back into memories.

"Chun-Yan!" Said Chinese girl turned to see Helena jogging surprisingly fast towards her.

"Yes, aru?" She answered, slinging her bag over her shoulders.

"Why did Kiku... run of like that? Wheres he... gone?" Chun-Yan silently handed her the scrap of paper. "Oh..."

"Yes... I'm worried. Its been so long since Kiku's done this, I don't know what'll happen..." She trailed off.

"Shall I come and talk to him?" Helena offered. The Chinese girl shook her head.

"I want to see how badly gone he is. If he's still like it later I'll tell you, aru." Helena nodded.

Chun-Yan walked slowly down the hallway to Kiku's room. She was dreading what state Kiku would be in- it had been years since something like this had happened.

She came to a halt outside of the sliding doors. She raised her hand and gently rapped on the wooden frame.

"... Kiku?" No response. She knocked again. "Kiku, I know you're in there." Again, no response. "I can break this door down Kiku... please, I'm not angry..." She sighed, resting her forehead against the wood.

She heard quiet shifting fabric from inside. She placed her hand on the door and tried sliding it to one side.

It was locked.

She could literally feel the anger boiling inside of her chest, seizing her heart and burning it dry. Her hands clenched into fists so her nails dug into her palms but she didn't feel it. She knew what she was going to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Allison stood by the benches outside of the canteen, chatting to Arthur, Francis (who was trying to cop a feel of Arthur's chest for some odd reason) and a few others.

"And so I was like 'but miss, I forgot it!' and then-"

"ALLISON F. JONES!" They heard an angry yell behind them and turned to see a VERY angry Chinese teenager advancing on them.

"Yo Chun-Yan! Whats-" She abruptly stopped talking as the pissed off girl back handed her, hard, across the face.

"Its YOUR FAULT!" She screamed, grabbing the American's collar and yanking her forward, bringing their faces close together.

"Wh-what?" Allison spluttered, trying to break away from Chun-Yan.

"Bloody hell, calm down!" Arthur grabbed Chun-Yan's forearm and tried to rip it away from the American.

"ITS YOUR FAULT! HE'S LOCKED HIMSELF IN HIS ROOM, WON'T COME OUT, WON'T EVEN OPEN THE DOOR!" She screamed, shaking the American slightly.

"Wh-what? How the hell is that my fault?" Allison yelled back, grabbing the enraged girl's arms and yanking them away from her, almost tearing the fabric of her top. "He's just being a stroppy kid! He's not grown up at all, he wouldn't kiss me properly, he barely ever talked, he only ever frigging agreed with me and to top it all of with what he did at the sleepover, he's so pathetic-"

"THATS BECAUSE HE WAS ABUSED AS A CHILD!" Chun-Yan screamed in her face.

Allison, Arthur and Francis's eyes shot open as their minds slowly caught up with what she had said. It was quite early before school so they were pretty much the only students around, so no-one else heard.

"H-he... he was..." Arthur stuttered, being the first to speak. The three goggled at the Chinese girl, silently begging for an explanation.

Chun-Yan drew in a slow breath, then let it out in a hiss, trying to control her anger before she began.

"From when Kiku was born to when he was around six years old, his mother would physically abuse him almost every day. He was saved when a group of armed police officers raided his mother's home on suspicion of... I don't remember what it was anymore, but they found Kiku."

The three listeners gazed at her, mouths open in a 'o' shape.

"He was taken to a foster home where he stayed for around a year. He was then adopted by my family. Arthur, Francis, you are both aware of what Kiku was like until we reached year three." The two nodded and Allison looked frantically between the two.

"He... he never spoke." Arthur murmured, looking awestruck.

"Wh-what? How come I-"

"You only joined out school in year four. By then Kiku had overcome his fear of speaking." Chun-Yan glared at Allison. "But... you may just have set it off again."

She turned and marched away from the trio, turning sharply around a corner and walking straight into Helena, who had heard the whole thing.

"So... you told them." She gazed at her friend, who nodded. "He's not looking good, is he..." The Chinese girl shook her head, looking downcast.

"He... he's locked himself in his room and isn't speaking or eating. Can you..." She hesitated slightly. "Come and talk to him. Please."

Helena nodded. She didn't need any persuasion.

Kiku lay shivering on his futon with a large pile of blankets wrapped around himself. He winced every time he heard someone stop outside his door, but they soon faded after something was either put down or picked up.

He buried his nose in his pillow and tightened his arms around what he was clinging to. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, failing just as he had for the past few hours.

He froze as he heard soft footsteps approaching his room down the hallway. They stopped at his door and he heard someone place a hand on the wooden frame, trying to slide it aside.

"Kiku?" A familiar voice came through the door. He stayed as silent as he could. "Kiku, I do know how to get in." There was silence for several seconds, then he heard a slight rattling as a card was poked through the door, then slid upwards, unlatching the hook from the nail in the other piece of the door and unlocking it. Kiku squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the door to slide open and for someone to drag him out- but nothing happened.

"I'm... not going to force you to come out if you don't want to." He heard a soft thud as Helena sat down by the door and his eyes widened. "Please... consider it. At least."

They sat there, separated by a wall, until Kiku heard a soft noise from outside. It sounded... it sounded like a cat?

He fidgeted for several seconds until his curiosity got the better of him and he crawled out of his safety area, shivering as he left his warmth behind. He reached out trembling fingers and nudged the door so it slid to the side, and immediately a small, fluffy animal tumbled through the gap in the door, squealing.

Kiku's face turned into a look of surprise, but when the kitten mewed and nuzzled his hand he let out the smallest of smiles.

"I thought she would... catch your attention." He heard a sleepy murmur and saw Helena smiling at him. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and looked down at the kitten. "Kiku... speak to me." She gazed at Kiku for several seconds as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"I-I..." She immediately smiled at him encouragingly. "I... I'm sorry..." He mumbled.

She raised her eyebrows, mentally transmitting (or attempting to) the message 'don't apologise'. She reached forward to pet the kitten and Kiku drew his hand back fearfully. "Its okay Kiku... nothing will hurt you now." She peered past him into the darkness and saw a dark lump of blankets. She shuffled past Kiku, who shied away from her, and started fidgeting around with the blankets until she pulled something out. She turned and put the hand that was holding the item towards Kiku. He stared at it.

She was holding a handmade stuffed rabbit plush towards him. It had a black eyepatch over it's left eye and was wearing a faded cloth kimono, patterned with chrysanthemums. Kiku stared at it for several more seconds before reaching out and taking it, drawing it close to his chest and burying his nose in it's head. Helena smiled at him.

"Kiku, look around you. You cannot want to stay in here... you spend six years of your life in one room. I want to help you. We all do..." She trailed off, crawling closer to him on her hands and knees. He drew back slightly as she raised a hand to his face. She waited several seconds before placing her hand on her friend's cheek and rubbing it slightly. "Come with me?"


	4. Chapter 4

Three days

"Come on Kiku..." Helena stood outside of her friend's bedroom with her hand held out towards Kiku, who was standing just inside of the doorway, clutching the rabbit toy and looking terrified.

It had taken three days to coax Kiku into even thinking of coming outside, and now it was proving difficult to actually get him out. She stood patiently still, looking at Kiku and willing him to come outside.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard a small sound and focused to see Kiku taking a step out of his room towards her. She smiled brightly at him as he took another step, walking towards her.

Two days

"So, if you divide it by the total then multiply it by a hundred you get..." Helena chewed the end of her pencil before scribbling down an answer on her maths homework. Kiku smiled at her, flipping over the piece of paper he had been using to explain how to fill in a pie chart and starting to draw her instead.

He had been going outside more frequently in a short space of time, which was a drastic improvement from when he started out. Currently though, he was sitting in his room helping Helena with her maths homework.

"Right... do you understand it now?" Helena looked up with a dozy look on her face; he glanced at her homework and smiled when he saw she had not only gotten all the right answers, she had also drawn ears and whiskers on the pie chart.

"Yes... thank-you Kiku, you're a great help." She smiled at him and he smiled shyly back. "You know... we have two days till we go back to school... can you..?" She trailed off, looking at him hopefully. He looked up at her silently, then nodded.

One day.

"Kiku? Dinners done, aru." Chun-Yan addressed her brother through the door before sliding it open and beckoning her brother. He nodded, standing silently and following her out. She led him to the dining room and they sat down, drawing the chairs towards the table. "Kiku, would you like a lift to school tomorrow, aru?" She asked. Kiku shook his head.

"No-thank-you, Chun-Yan-chan. Umm... Helena-chan is picking me up, if thats okay." He mumbled the last bit and his sister smiled at him.

"Of course its all right, aru!"

Zero days.

"Right, you have your phone, money and homework, yes?" Chun-Yan fussed over her brother as if it was his first day back at school.

He spluttered as she flicked part of his fringe and stepped back. "N-Nee-chan, I'll be fine. You don't have to worry so much." He patted his fringe, hoping it wouldn't stick up all day.

"Ah, of course, aru. I'll be leaving early... I'm meeting a few people on the way." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door. "Zàijiàn!" Kiku smiled and waved at him as she headed out of the door before sighing silently and picking up his bag, just as the doorbell rang.

He smiled as he opened to door to reveal Helena having a staring match with the doorbell. "Sh-shall we go?" He stuttered slightly, not wanting to seem nervous in front of his friend. She nodded, smiling and holding out a small keyring with a lucky cat on it.

"I thought you might like it..." She mumbled, tilting her head and grinning. He blushed slightly and muttered a quick 'arigato', before slipping outs of the house and closing the door quietly behind him.

They walked for several minutes in silence. It had been cold and frosty recently and a thin layer of treacherous ice was lying over the ground, making roads and paths dangerous. Not much traffic was about because of this luckily, so there was little chance of an accident.

"Kiku..." The boy heard his friend murmur his name and he looked at her.

"Hai?"

She looked down at him, slightly startled. "Ah, nothing. I was just thinking..." They walked in silence for another while until she spoke again. "What do you think about me?"

Kiku was surprised by the question. "Umm... well.. I think you're very kind... and you like cats..." He smiled sheepishly at her. She grinned back at him, then noticed a cat trying to make its way across the slippery ice.

"Ah... poor kitty." She took a few steps and picked up the cat, which instantly nuzzled into her neck. She smiled and began to make her way across the ice- then fell over.

It was then she heard a screech.

She jerked her head up to see a large car speeding towards her, swerving dangerously on the pavement. She panicked- what else would she do?- and scrambled to get up, slipping on the ice again. She finally regained her balance as the car came almost into touching distance then felt something on her back, pushing her forwards and-

THUMP.

**A/N I feel so mean :D next chapter will be up soon, prepare for flashbacks ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

Helena opened her eyes and immediately saw the grey concrete of the pavement. She jerked her head up and scrambled up on all fours, turning and falling to the ground again. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Kiku was on the ground several meters away from her, sprawled over a patch of ice with both eyes closed and a trickle of blood running down his forehead. Without hesitation, she crawled towards him before stumbling onto her feet and running as fast as she could. She skidded down next to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Kiku! Oh god, Kiku are you all right?" She almost screamed at him. He had... he had pushed her out of the way. Without thinking of himself, he had saved her, why had he saved her?

"O-oh my... oh god, I'm so sorry, it was an accident!" The man who was driving the car stumbled out, staring at the two teenagers.

"D-don't worry about it right now, call an ambulance!" She yelled, throwing her mobile phone at him and positioning Kiku's head on her knees. He was getting pale and his breathing was shallow. She tried shifting him onto his back but as soon as she began to turn him he let out a strangled groan and she spotted a red dot at the corner of his mouth.

Blood.

She started shaking and clutched Kiku's head to chest. "I'm sorry Kiku, I'm so, so sorry..." She mumbled over and over until she heard a siren and an ambulance came into sight. It parked up several meters away and several paramedics scrambled out with a stretcher, kneeling down beside Kiku as another dragged Helena away from him.

Several seconds passed as a panicking Helena was consoled by a paramedic and the rest of the group carefully loaded Kiku onto the stretcher and placed him inside the ambulance. Helena jumped forward.

"P-please, let me come! I have to stay with him, he can't be alone again, he-" She was cut off by a paramedic telling her that yes, she could come but she had to get in the van as Kiku needed surgery on his broken ribs. She quickly obeyed and they sped off towards the hospital.

Kiku's first memory was of pain.

He lived in a small room for the first six years of his life. The wallpaper was peeling, damp was spreading all over the ceiling, but he didn't know anything else. He didn't have a name, and he didn't know what else there was to the world. The only light he had crept through the wooden blinds on the window, that was too high for him to see out of. And every time he heard the loud noise of the door below him he was scared.

For every time he heard that, footsteps came up the stairs towards him, and then his first memory would become his second... and third...

This cycle went on for six, long years. He thought it would never end.

As the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the back doors were thrown open and the paramedics took Kiku out, put him on a trolley and rushed him inside the large white building. Helena scrambled out after him, following until the group went into into a corridor labelled 'OR'. She was immediately sidestepped by a man in a white coat with a clipboard, throwing questions at her.

She gave him her name, Kiku's name, what had happened and as much information of Kiku as she could think of in her panicked state of mind.

"W-will he be okay?" She barely resisted grabbing his tie and shaking him until he told her what was going to happen.

"I'm sure he will be fine. I will need to ask you several more questions later on, can you get some of his family down here? Maybe his parents?"

Helena shook her head. "He's adopted, I'll phone his sister and his foster parents." She took out her phone and almost dropped it with her shaking fingers. Quickly, she held the phone up to her ear and waited not-so-patiently for Chun-Yan to pick up.

Chun-Yan tapped her fingernails on the desk as she half listened to the teacher droning on and half wondering where Kiku and Helena were. She almost jumped out of her skin as her phone vibrated in her pocket and she checked the ID.

"Um, miss? Helenas phoning me, may I take the call?" The teacher nodded at her. "Nǐ hǎo, this is Chu-"

"CHUN-YAN!" The other girl screamed down the phone and the Chinese girl almost dropped her mobile.

"H-Helena? Whats wrong?" She shakily replied, knowing by the tone of voice something was very wrong.

"K-Kiku, he's in the hospital, w-we were coming to school and I fell over and a car was coming and he, I-"

"I'll be there in five minutes, aru." Chun-Yan hung up and began packing up her things.

"Chun-Yan, where are you going?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at her and the other students stared.

"Kiku's in the hospital." Was all she said as she walked out of the door, breaking into a run several steps from the door.

"ITS... YOUR... FAULT!" The woman screamed one last time before dropping the piece of wood and turning, walking out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

The small boy lay in the corner of the room, whimpering quietly and holding a hand to his shoulder that was leaking red stuff... and it felt bad.

He drew in a short breath and tried nuzzling his head into the wall, trying to block out the pain. It didn't work.

This cycle repeated day after day, sometimes getting so worse that the little boy passed out often. The wooden floorboards near his little corner were stained red, and he'd forgotten what it was like to not have pain in his system. He never thought it would end.

Chun-Yan panted as she ran up to the hospital, stumbling through the door and almost collapsing at the entrance. She spotted a mop of messy brown hair buried in a pair of tanned hands and ran over to the girl, grabbing her shoulders.

"H-Helena! Where's Kiku?" She yelled through her exhaustion. Helena looked up at her quickly, eyes tinged red and tear tracks on her cheeks.

"I-I don't know, they took him off somewhere, I..." She sniffed and hiccuped slightly, wiping her eyes. Chun-Yan released her shoulders and sank into a chair, resting her forehead on her palm.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." The Greek mumbled beside her, burying her face in her hands again.

"Its not your fault Helena, he'll be okay. He was fine before, and he... he'll be fine now. I know he will."

**A/N Mwahaha, another cliffhanger! I'll be updating again soon :3**

**Reviews are much appreciated :3 **hinthinthint****


	6. Chapter 6

Helena sat by the pale hospital bed, staring at the white bandages tinted with red wrapped around her best friend's head. Her tanned fingers were interlaced with Kiku's pale, thin ones and were resting on the side of the bed, and she had been blankly staring at Kiku's face for ages.

Kiku had suffered four broken ribs, a fractured leg and a slightly punctured lung. He also had a concussion and... and the doctors weren't sure when he'd wake up.

Helena sniffed again and wiped her eyes with her free hand, which immediately went to join her and Kiku's entwined hands. She sighed and rubbed her fingers against the back of Kiku's hand in an attempt to comfort herself.

Kiku had been unconscious for three days and wasn't showing any signs of waking up. Helena had stayed at the hospital with him as much as he could, and had kicked up a huge fuss to be able to stay there overnight. Chun-Yan and her parents were coming and going, same with the police, but not much changed. She sighed and stood up, reluctantly letting go of Kiku's hand and looking sadly at his face.

"I'll be back soon Kiku, I promise." She leaned down and brushed her lips against his forehead before forcing herself out of the door.

She jogged along the road tiredly, reaching the bus stop and jumping on board just as the doors closed. She handed money over to the driver and sat down, staring at the looming building of the hospital that was disappearing from sight.

**The small boy huddled in the corner of his room, shivering in the cold and weakly clutching his torn clothes to his small frame. He heard a slamming downstairs and he winced, trying to hide in the shadows of his house. Footsteps echoed up the stair then-**

"**This is the police, please open the door."**

**The footsteps stopped abruptly and headed back, away from the room. He heard the door open downstairs and he tried to listen.**

**He heard a small amount of talking, then an odd clicking noise and he faintly heard "We have a warrant to search your home, if you'd just step outsi- WAIT!" The door hit something as it was flung towards the others and footsteps raced heavily up the stairs.**

**The boy braced himself for another beating but as the door flung open and the woman charged in, he shrunk back into the corner as she run over to the boarded up window, pulling at the wooden planks. Heavier footsteps followed up the stairs and people in black burst into the room, two of them running over to the woman and grabbing her, forcing her to the floor.**

"**NO! ITS NOT MY FAULT! ITS THAT BRAT'S FAULT!" She screamed, struggling and kicking in their grasp. Several more police officers entered through the door to assist, and one noticed the boy in the corner and ran over to him.**

"**Are you okay, love? Come on, lets get you out of here..." She murmured comfortingly, easing her arms under the boy and lifting him with ease. He whimpered slightly as he was moved, but soon felt the warmth of the woman in black who had saved him creeping onto him and he lent into her.**

**She ran down the stairs and out of the front door, sitting herself on a neighbour's wall (ignoring their questions as to what the ****ing hell was going on) and pulled her walkie-talkie to her face, holding the boy to her chest with her other hand.**

"**Constable Angel Helsing, we're at the target's house and require tazer use permission and an ambulance." She replaced her walkie-talkie back onto it's holder and adjusted the small boy in her arms. His tiny hands had a weak grip on her stab vest and he was shivering violently. Angel stood up from the wall and made her way over to her car, opening the door with one hand and pulling a shock blanket out of the glove box, then wrapping it awkwardly around the boy.**

**Several minutes later, three police officers walked out of the house, carrying the boy's mother. They'd handcuffed her, tied her arms to her torso, strapped her legs together and put a gag on her, but she was still kicking and trying to scream as they loaded her into the police van and locked the doors.**

"**Hey Angel, is an ambulance on its way for him?" A male officer pointed at the boy and Angel nodded.**

"**Yep, should be here in a few minutes." She looked sadly down at the boy, he couldn't have been more than five or six years old. She had three children and, as annoying as they could be, she loved them dearly and could never even think of treating them as badly as this boy had been treated.**

"Ah, nihao Helena. Hows he doing?" Chun-Yan greeted her at the door and let her inside.

"He's... same as yesterday. No response to anything, just... lays there..." Helena sighed heavily and forced a smile. "I'm sure he'll recover soon."

"He will, I know it. Come with me, we can get some stuff for him." The two girls made their way to Kiku's room, Chun-Yan carrying a backpack. They reached the room and Chun-Yan immediately went to the wardrobe, to get Kiku some clothes for when he woke up. Helena went over to his bed, picking up several things from his bedside table and placing them in a small crowd that was to be put in the bag. The last thing she picked up was the toy rabbit, which was too big to fit in the bag, so she just held onto it.

The girls left together, Chun-yan carrying the backpack and Helena carrying the rabbit. They got some odd looks when they got onto the bus but as the vehicle started moving, most people turned away. Chun-Yan turned to Helena considering starting a conversation- then realised the Greek girl was asleep, leaning over slightly with her forehead resting against the rabbit. Dark smudges were visible under her eyes from where she's been staying up for hours with Kiku. The Chinese girl smiled and let her friend sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

"Helena... Helena! Wake up, aru!" Chun-Yan poked the Greek's cheek, sighing when she received no more than a small grunt-like whine. "... Sadiq has taken your cat... aru" She whispered, so as not to disturb the others getting off of the bus.

Helena jerked awake, her curly hair flying around as she turned, looking for her Turkish enemy- until she remembered where she was.

"Oh... are we here?" She sleepily blinked and stood up, exiting the bus and yawning, stretching her arms above her head.

"Yes Helena... how on earth you can sleep all the time, I'll never know, aru." She rolled her eyes and began dragging her towards the hospital. They checked in at the front desk and went to the lift, Helena slumping against the wall rail.

The lift doors opened and the two girls stepped out, Chun-Yan dragging her sleepy Greek friend, who was still clutching the toy rabbit behind her. Chun-Yan froze and Helena walked into her back, snapping awake and looking up.

"... What are **you** doing here?!" The Greek growled, her arms tightening around the rabbit as she glared at the two visitors.

"Like, what? I WAS his girlfriend." Allison snapped back, crossing her arms and turning away from the other two. Arthur, who was sitting on her other side, glanced apologetically to the two girls, conveying the message 'please don't kill me, she's very strong and hard to escape from.'

"WAS. You have NO idea what you did to him, you-"

"Helena." Chun-Yan warned her, placing a hand on her shoulder and glancing at her. Helena snapped out of her glare and looked towards Kiku.

She frowned- Kiku's face was paler than usual, and the beeps on the heart monitor had sped up slightly. Helena walked slowly towards him, sitting right next to Kiku and gently touching his cheek. His eyelids flickered slightly but there was no more movement.

She sighed, before picking one of his limp arms up and tucking the toy tabbit under it. She placed his arm over it and he turned his face towards it.

Helena turned to look at the other girls as if to prove a point. Allison was staring at Kiku. "Is that that stupid rabbit he had in year(/grade) five?" She almost spluttered.

"Yes. If you're going to be like that then piss off, theres no need for you to even be here if you're going to disrespect-"

"Helena-aru!" Chun-Yan spoke sharply to her again, shooting a disapproving look at the girl. Helena immediately shut up and shrank back into the seat, as Allison and Arthur stood.

"Fine. I can like, totally tell when we're not wanted." Allison snapped, flouncing out of the hospital ward. Arthur mouthed 'sorry' and quickly followed her.

"Aiyaa, that girl has to earn some manners or she'll never get anyone, aru..." Chun-Yan mumbled, fidgeting with the bags she was carrying.

"Mmm..." Came the only reply. Helena was idly stroking Kiku's fringe with two fingers while gazing at him absent-mindedly.

"**Hey! You're awake!" A pair of tired brown eyes rimmed with black blinked open, to the blinding white of a hospital room.**

**The little boy looked around weakly, eventually meeting the gaze of the woman who had saved him.**

"**My names Angel. Whats yours?" She asked gently, smiling at him. He stared at her with wide eyes, as if not knowing how to reply. She tried the approach you use when talking to a very young child. She pointed at herself and said slowly "An-gel." The boy nodded- he had understood her! She pointed at him and tilted her head to the side. He stared at her outstretched hand, looking terrified, and timidly reached out a hand to her.**

**'He can't speak... either that or he doesn't want to...' She thought to herself, frowning slightly. The boy seemed to notice and drew his hand back slowly, almost fearfully.**

**Angel suddenly clapped her hands, making the boy jump. "Ah, sorry! I just remembered something..." She mumbled and dug around in her bag for something. **

**She pulled out a large- and by large it was slightly smaller than the boy- toy rabbit, wearing a kimono.**

"**I had some spare time while my kids were on a trip, so I made you this!" She said cheerfully, extending her arm to the boy. He glanced from the rabbit to her, before extending a tiny hand out to take it. Angel smiled as he drew it closer to himself, wrapping both his small arms around it as if he'd never felt anything like it before.**

"**Now love..." She started quietly. The boy looked up at her quickly, half his face hidden by the rabbit's ears. "We need to find you a name." He stared up at her, one of his large brown eyes hidden by a bandage, seemingly deciphering what she said.**

"**How about... damn, I always forget this name... ah! Matthew?" The boy shook his head slightly, wincing as he moved his neck. "Okay maybe not..." She looked around the room, as if inspiration would leap out of no-where.**

**She soon felt a tugging on her sleeve and looked down to see the boy trying to point at the rabbit, which was difficult with his arm in a cast.**

"**Rabbit?" He shook his head. "No... kimono? Ah, no..." He pointed, somehow more obviously, at the flowers patterning the rabbit's kimono. "Chrysanthemum?" The boy nodded very slightly. "Thats a very long name, and quite girly... wait a minute! I've got it." She paused for effect. **

"**Kiku. That means chrysanthemum in Japanese!" She knew where he and his 'mother' (if you could call that **_**woman **_**that, was from after reading the file on her.) The boy nodded again, hiding more of his face in the rabbit.**

"**Perfect! Now we need a second name... how about... Honda?"**

**Kiku Honda.**

**/ A/N I'm really sorry if this feels rushed, but I've been having exams and revision a job and stuff so I'm a little busy xD hope you enjoy learning about where Kiku's name comes from :3**


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